| The birth of modern Chinese medicine advertisements is closely related to the invasion of modern Western capitalism.It has its own rules and characteristics,and is influenced by external factors,presenting the characteristics of cultural hybridity.In modern China,with a turbulent political situation and a lack of professional ethics in journalism,advertisements presented a trend of false medical advertisements.Some Western medicine advertisements misled consumers’ understanding of health and disease with the discourse of science and treatment.Even under the cover of therapeutic consumption discourse,colonial dissemination was carried out.The aim of this study is to explore the mechanisms of colonial dissemination in Western medicine advertising during the modern period in China(late 19 th century to mid-20 th century)from a micro perspective of Western medicine advertising.Chapter 1 aims to outline the historical context of the production of Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People,as well as its developmental trajectory and advertising features in Europe,America,and China,to demonstrate that this Western medicine serves as a typical case of colonial discourse in advertising text,with a solid foundation and capability of colonial dissemination in modern Chinese Western medicine advertising.Chapters 2,3,and 4 use the three-dimensional framework of critical discourse analysis proposed by Fairclough to reveal the coupling between advertising text and the colonial power relationship and the ideology of "Western centrism" embedded in advertising discourse.Chapter 2 studies the language and expression used in the advertising of this medicine through lexical and discourse analyses.Chapter 3 provides an in-depth analysis of the production,distribution,and consumption processes of the advertising discourse of Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People,finding that this advertising discourse practice is not only a means of product promotion,but also a way of cultural transmission and ideological output.In the process of advertising discourse production and dissemination,advertising discourse permeates the cultural connotations of China and to some extent solidifies Chinese feudal social concepts and value orientations.In the consumption process of advertising discourse,the advertising discourse of Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People is reproduced and varied within the cultural context of China.Chapter 4 explores the unequal power relationships that are hidden under the advertising discourse.The study found that the advertisement was adept at utilizing the political privileges and cultural superiority of its home country in China,combining "road" and "paper" channels to disseminate information from the center to the periphery,accelerating spatial expansion and cultural plundering.The projection of the advertisement text is that Western advertisers use the "doctor-patient relationship" to shape people’s perception of "West-China",ultimately leading to the gradual concealment and eventual disappearance of the advertisement language of this pill as "Western-centric" discourse diminishes and Chinese national consciousness awakens. |
